1968 - Roberto Clemente's opening day optical illusion goes for naught as Pittsburgh's newly acquired answer to its pitching problem, Jim Bunning, fresh off his career year with Philadelphia, provides an unwelcome harbinger of what will be a very trying season and, in so doing, marks the beginning of the distinctly mediocre final phase of his Hall of Fame career. But it's just another day at the office for Clemente, as he provides one of those signature moments when, as Frank Robinson recalls, "You'd watch him and find yourself saying to the guy next to you, 'Did you see that?'" Unfortunately, Bunning, Juan Pizarro and Ron Kline combine to squander Pittsburgh's 4 - 2 advantage in the final frame, thus leaving Clemente's magical moment (and his 3rd-inning, tie-breaking homer) somewhat adrift: "Rookie Hal King couldn't believe Roberto Clemente caught his long fly down the right field line for the third out in the 2nd inning," writes Les Biederman in the Pittsburgh Press. "King had just turned second base when he heard the crowd groan and saw the Pirates running off the field. He stopped, gave a bewildered look and kept glancing down the right field line to see how it was possible."

1973 - The first game in the history of Royals Stadium is played. John Mayberry hits a home run in Kansas City's 12 - 1 rout of Texas. A crowd of 39,476 attends the game at the state-of-the-art ballpark, which features water fountains beyond the outfield fence.

1974 - After a number of snowouts, the Expos finally open their season with an epic 11 - 8 win over the Pirates. Trailing 6 - 5 heading in the top of the 9th, Montreal scores three runs off Dave Giusti, but Bob Robertson hits a two-run pinch homer off Chuck Taylor to tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the 9th­. The Expos manage to score three runs off a tiring Ramon Hernandez in the 13th, with a double by rookie 2B Jim Cox driving in the go-ahead run. Taylor is still on the mound to pitch the bottom of the 13th, his sixth inning of relief, and he sets down the Bucs in order to earn the win.

1977 - At Fenway Park, the Cleveland Indians (13) and the Boston Red Sox (6) establish a major league record for the most runs scored by both teams in one inning. The 8th-inning barrage proves to be too much for Boston as Cleveland beats the home team, 19 - 9.

A crowd of 62,443 fans show up with the game-time temperature 38 degrees with a wind chill of 17 to see the Cleveland Indians drop the season opener to the Texas Rangers, 8 - 3. Five hundred tons of snow had to be removed from the Cleveland Stadium field prior to the game.

2000 - On his father's 50th birthday, Ken Griffey, Jr. becomes the youngest player, at 30 years and 141 days, to hit 400 career home runs, beating the previous mark set by Jimmie Foxx, who was 30 years and 248 days old.

David Ortiz agrees to a four-year contract extension with the Boston Red Sox, a deal that will guarantee the slugger about $52 million. In 2005, Ortiz batted .300 with 148 RBI in 159 games, as his 47 home runs were second in Red Sox history to Jimmie Foxx's 50 in 1938.

Jose Reyes returns to the line-up for the first time since May of last year as the Mets lose to the Nationals, 4 - 3. His injury was one of those that torpedoed the Mets' 2009 season after a good start.

In the nationally-televised Sunday-night game, the Red Sox shut out the Yankees, 4 - 0, thanks to a dominating performance by Josh Beckett, who gives up only 2 hits in 8 innings while striking out 10. The Red Sox strand 16 baserunners but manage to squeak a run off CC Sabathia on Mike Cameron's infield single in the 3rd, before tacking on a few insurance runs late in the game. Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon combine to retire the final 17 New York batters in order.

The Miami Marlins announce that they are suspending manager Ozzie Guillen for five games for making remarks supportive of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in a recent Time magazine interview. The Marlins decide to act even though Guillen has apologized in order to stem the groundswell of protest from Miami's large Cuban community.

The Braves win their first game this season, 6 - 4, over the Houston Astros, as Chipper Jones homers in his first game of the year. The win snaps a nine-game losing streak dating back to the Braves' collapse at the end of the 2011 season, which cost them a playoff spot. Rookie SS Tyler Pastornicky hits his first major league homer for Atlanta as Houston wears the uniforms of the Houston Colt .45s in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first game in team history.

The Boston Red Sox's record streak of sell-outs at Fenway Park ends after 820 games as the attendance for today's game against the Orioles is 30,862, well below the stadium's capacity of 37,493. The streak had begun on May 15, 2003 and included 794 regular-season games and 26 postseason contests. It easily surpassed the previous record of 455, set by the Cleveland Indians between 1995 and 2001. The streak went on even though Fenway's seating capacity was increased by 5000 over the period.

Cubs minor league prospect Jorge Soler is ejected from a game in the Florida State League for charging the opposite dugout with a bat in the 7th inning. Soler had been spiked while sliding at second base the previous inning. He will receive a five-game suspension for his outburst.

1B Brandon Moss collects 5 RBIs to lead the A's to an 11 - 5 win over the Angels. It is Oakland's seventh straight win.

2014 - As usual, sparks fly in the first meeting of the season between the Yankees and Red Sox. New York defeats Boston, 4 - 1, behind the pitching of Michael Pineda, but Boston's broadcasters claim they have detected pine tar on Pineda's pitching hand. The Yankees' hurler dismisses the claim, saying it is just sweat mixed with dirt, while umpire Brian O'Nora states that nothing of concern was brought to his attention.

Mark Buehrle wins the 200th game of his career as the Blue Jays spoil the Orioles' home opener, 12 - 4. Buehrle allows 2 runs in 6 innings, while the Jays bang out 16 hits, including 8 doubles, and collect 4 sacrifice flies in roughing up Bud Norris and three relievers.